Fridays With Severus
by BewilderedFemale
Summary: Being fed up with the wizarding world, Hermione moves to muggle London. Being fed up with Hogwarts and life in general, Severus heads to muggle London and so it begins.. -One shot


**AN: Came up with this after downloading the song "Pretty Women" I mean.. come on, Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman singing together.. *drools***

Part of my reason for writing this story is that lately it seems that all of the Hermione/Severus stories entail Hermione having to chase Snape… ummm I thought it was the dude that was supposed to chase the chick.. or am I just being old-fashioned?

Just FYI, I have not forgotten about my other stories but I'm nearing finals and I haven't had time to sit and organize my stories that are still in progress the way that I like but I have a few days off coming up soon so I promise you will have your stories!

For now, I hope this will suffice. Love you all!

"**FRIDAY'S WITH SEVERUS"**

****

He walked about the streets of muggle London, hurriedly, trying to keep up with the quick pace of the city. Illuminated with lights, sounds of laughter, people chattering, cars honking, engines running. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes as he relished in the feeling of the cold air caressing his face.

After so many months of being locked away in a dark and cold castle doing nothing but teaching obnoxious children, he found it a great relief to actually be out and about despite the streets being as crowded as they were.

The holidays were nearing and so the excitement that had possessed people could be felt in the air.

Severus on the other hand wanted nothing more than to grab a hot cup of tea and sit down with a good book in a warmly lit cafe or bookshop while observing the bitter cold on the outside. It always gave him a sense of peace and it was his way of taking a proper break where no one from the wizarding world would recognize him.

As he walked past the rows of books, he let his fingers lightly graze the spines. He inhaled deeply and his eyes practically rolled back in pleasure. The scent of cinnamon spice holiday mix coming from the cafe, and the leather of the books combined to make an intoxicating aroma for him. He quickly grabbed a book and made to sit next to the window but saw that all of the seats were occupied, well, all except one table with a vacant chair.

The woman that occupied the one side was petite, with golden brown curls that cascaded around her face. She wore a gray and red striped sweater that hugged her body in all the right places, accompanied by Jeans and brown leather boots. He couldn't explain why, but he found her to be striking in appearance. She seemed plain enough, but the way the light from outside brought out the natural highlights in her hair, and as she sat there reading, she seemed so at peace. It was something he longed for in his own life, but never seemed to have, and the moments he did, they always seemed to never last long enough.

It wasn't until she looked up that he realized who he had been starring at for the past minute.

"Miss Granger?"

Her head quickly shot up in shock. "Professor?"  
There was a brief pause before she asked: "You do realize this is a muggle shop don't you?"

His face quickly went from surprise and concern to his usual snide smirk. "Of course I know! Why do you think I'm here?"

"To be honest sir, I would never have expected to come across you here."

"And that is precisely why I'm here, because no one would ever think to find me here, and I can hopefully have a few hours of leisure, but.. maybe I ask for too much.."

Hermione saw him eyeing the chair across from her and realized he would not ask to sit unless invited. "Sir, there are no more seats in the area I assure you. People come in to take a break from the madness of shopping, or simply to warm up from the cold outside. I will not bother you if you sit as I myself am reading."

Not a word came out from his lips as he quickly pulled out the seat across from her and made himself comfortable. She in turn went back to her book, and to his surprise; she did not seem to feel the need to break the silence. She simply sat there engrossed in whatever she was reading.

Why was he stealing glances of her in between paragraphs?  
But the big question was, why did she smile in response to his glances?

Where was the nosy, know-it-all Granger that would've bombarded him with questions the moment he had sat down?  
Why did he swallow hard and feel his heart rate increase each time she flashed him one of her smiles?

It was then that she finally stayed starring at him, and he quickly realized it was because he had been starring first.

"What puzzles you so sir?"  
She said marking her book before putting it down in front of her.

"What are you doing here?"  
It seems he would be the one to ask the questions today.

She gave him a small smile, took a sip of her coffee and looked back at him.  
"I think that is obvious, but what you really want to know is, what am I doing in the muggle world, yes?"

He nodded.

"Well, let's just say that the peace and prosperity everyone expected after the war never showed up for me."

He stayed starring at her, expecting her to elaborate but it never came. She simply took another sip of her coffee and was about to pick up her book again when he quickly licked his lips before replying. "What, that's it? So because of that you decide you need pack up and go?"

"You want the honest truth Sir?"

"Absolutely, otherwise I wouldn't be asking."

"The wizarding world was never kind to me. YOU are well aware of that. I sacrificed so much of myself, risked my life I don't know how many times, only to come out with absolutely nothing in the end except for a broken heart, and shattered dreams. The final straw was when the ministry had the audacity to offer me a clerical job making minimum pay as gratitude for all that I had done."

"That was when I packed up all my belongings and came back here to London, finished my four year degree in two and am doing pretty well for myself despite everything. It may not be the happily ever after I had expected, but at this point anything is better than living within the world that treated me so cruelly despite the good I tried to do."

She hid it well, but there was a sadness that laid thick within her words. He knew that she had been treated unfairly, he too had had his turn while he was her professor, but he had to; there simply was no other way at the time. He had always secretly admired her, and seeing her now as an adult added another flair that had not been present when she was still a child.

"I do not blame you, and since we are being so open about things, I too have had my moments where I've wanted to leave everything behind too."

She looked at him, a sad expression taking on the whole of her face. "Yes, I believe you would. I think that we are not the only ones who walked away from the war feeling this way. It was easier for me to do it because apart from the indignation being there, I was already familiar with the muggle world, but for some it would be too life altering to have to learn things from scratch, and so they feel they must make due with what is given to them."

He mulled over her words in his mind realizing she was no longer the child he once knew. Her words demonstrating maturity and a knowledge that most people her age lacked. It was then that he realized how much he had actually missed having an intellectual conversation with someone.

It came as somewhat of a shock since he had tried to thoroughly convince himself and he didn't need anyone in his life. The pain that others could inflict once being vulnerable and open to them was too excruciating if they came back and betrayed you, it just wasn't worth it; yet here sat this beautiful girl, no, woman. She had found out the ways of the world and decided she wouldn't stand for it and regained control in a different way.  
He wondered if she too felt the loneliness, and wondered if that was what had brought them both to the muggle bookstore.

"Well Professor, I must be off. I can honestly say that it was nice seeing you. I don't know that I would've felt the same had I stumbled upon someone else from the wizarding world, but I did enjoy what little conversation we've had. I come here sometimes on Friday evenings since they have half off specials on coffee, maybe I'll see you around?"

If that wasn't an invitation to meet up again, he didn't know what was, and before he could thoroughly think it over he found he was already replying:  
"I would like that very much Miss Granger, after my classes have concluded I will stop by."

She flashed him one of those smiles she had given him before when he was trying to steal glances of her, and found his mouth had gone completely dry. He managed a half smile and a curt nod, and then she was gone.

He suddenly found that he couldn't wait for Friday to arrive.

O

Snape paced his quarters anxiously, it was Friday afternoon.

The realization of meeting up with Granger finally hit him. Why was he so nervous? At the same time he found himself excited, just as he had been all the days leading up until that moment.

At first he had questioned the idea of seeing her again, not wanting to become attached to anyone or anything, but he then pushed those thoughts away. If anyone was incapable of hurting anyone unless provoked, it was Granger.  
After all that she had been through, he was sure that she too just wanted some kind of familiar company and that was all, and he saw nothing wrong with it, it could become a source of escape for both of them.

And that it did.

Before long, Hermione and Severus always met at the muggle bookstore on Friday evenings.  
It became so that Severus' whole week led up to that moment and it was as if he was an entirely different person once he set foot into the bookstore. Peace and tranquility wrapped itself around him and his eyes sparkled as he would approach the beauty that sat at the same corner table facing the window.

Hermione would talk about the people at work she had to deal with, and Severus would vent about the dunderheaded children that never seemed to do anything right.

She would watch him with animated fascination and he had to admit that he had come to enjoy her company tremendously.

"Hermione, there is a question that I've been wanting to ask you for some time now; I hope you don't think me impertinent."

She flashed him that warm smile he had come to love. "You can ask me anything Severus."

"What ever happened between you and the Weasley boy? Is he part of the reason why you felt you had to leave?"

She sighed deeply and he immediately saw how her countenance changed. He knew she would get upset but he wanted to know what the idiot had done to lose such a precious gem.

"After the war, things between us were quite amazing actually. He took me to the finest restaurants, and he seemed so caring and attentive towards my needs and wants, but something was off. There were times where he would shut off from me, and he became secretive. When I would confront him about it, he'd turn it around on me and say I was too demanding of him and that sometimes he needed his own personal space. I have to admit though, when I get attached to someone, I tend to get clingy.  
I mean, it's rare to come across someone who knows exactly what kind of person you are and yet will love you despite everything."

"So one day Luna invited me out for lunch and I noticed right away that something was wrong even though Luna is weird anyway, but she was acting especially weird that day. It turns out she was trying to find a way to tell me that she had seen Ron out the night before with Lavender."

She looked Severus right in the eyes, her face expressionless. "I probably don't need to tell you what it felt like to realize that the person that you loved so much and who you thought loved you in return betrays you. To find out that everything that was said and done was all a lie."

"So yes, he added to the already large chunk of reasons why I felt I had to leave, and you know what Severus? I don't regret it. I don't want to go back, I finally have a sense of peace that my life lacked before, and I think I've become a better person for it."

Severus nodded and couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain. It would be completely selfish to try and convince her to return just so he could have her, and yet she would be unhappy. It meant that he'd probably never have a chance of being with her outside of these Friday meetings.

"I can hear the wheels turning from here Severus, what are you thinking?"

_This is insane is what I'm thinking. I've fallen in love with a woman who's 18 years my junior and I want to be with her but the circumstances seem impossible._

"I'm thinking that I have to prepare for a staff meeting tomorrow morning and I should take my leave."

"Oh… but .. It's umm.. Saturday tomorrow."

"Yes well, this was a last minute thing Minerva concocted."

Hermione gave him a sideways glance. "Did I say something that offended you Severus?"

"Never my dear, I'm sorry that I didn't mention anything sooner, I only just remembered."

He got out of his chair and pushed it back in place. "Until next Friday then."

"Goodbye Severus."  
Hermione watched as he left. She glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was only 6:30pm. He had never left that early before.  
She felt a pain that she hadn't felt in years.

It was that pain that she had been trying to run away from, the reason why she left everything behind. That damn pain that seemed to take over all thought and reason. She could feel her eyes begin to water and it was then that she realized the depth of her feelings towards Severus, and after the way he behaved tonight, she understood that it was time to cut him and the pain he brought out from her life too before things got worse.

O

Severus sat before a sea of dunderheads; god they were a stupid bunch!  
None of them seemed to be able to brew a decent potion, none of them seemed to have and possess the passion and skills like she had…

He thought over and over of how he had left her that night. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted his actions. He just didn't know how to cope with his feelings.

He thought about maybe sending her an owl apologizing, maybe asking her out on a proper date since she had said that she enjoyed going out to restaurants. Then he decided that he'd ask her out in person. Suddenly, he began to look forward to Friday again.

Friday came, and he strode into the bookstore with a new found excitement, he was finally going to escalate things with Hermione.

As he walked past the last row of books that led to the café, he peered over at their usual table and found it empty.

_She's probably just running late, maybe got tied up at work._

So he sat and ordered his usual while reading a book, and before he knew it, an hour had passed and still there was no sign of her.

He had been stood up.

Although, what if something had happened to her? He didn't know whether she would be able to defend herself now after years of not using magic.

Another hour passed and still she had not showed up and now the alarm had grown to an extent where he didn't care if she had stood him up, he just needed to know that she was safe.

He quickly left the bookshop and headed down the busy streets.  
He turned a corner into an alley and pulled out his wand muttering a spell and then adding. "Take me to Hermione Granger!"

Suddenly, a green flash of light shot out leading him in the direction that he needed to go.

He ran as fast as he could, turn after turn and going down streets until he finally came upon an apartment building. He looked around to make sure no one was looking and zapped the entrance door open with his wand and walked in.

He followed the light that ultimately ended at door number eight on the third floor.  
He put his wand away and knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked harder this time, but there still was no answer.

As a last resolve before forcing the door open, he called out "Hermione, are you in there? Please open the door if you are."

Not two seconds later, he could hear the clicks of the locks opening and beheld a disheveled-looking Hermione.  
Her eyes were puffy and red, and she was dressed in pajamas, in short; she looked like hell.

She pulled him inside making sure no one had seen him.

"Severus what are you doing here?"

Still trying to catch his breath, he gave her a look that can only be described as pained.

"I .. I thought something had happened to you, I .. forgive me, I know I'm intruding."

She couldn't explain it, but there was something thing about the way he looked as he stood there completely helpless. Not to mention that she never in her wildest dreams thought that he'd come looking for her concerned that something had happened to her. It touched her in ways she had never known before. 

"Severus…"

It must've been the look upon her face that gave it away, because he instantly strode over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "God I thought I had lost you."

She looked up at him with those beautiful warm golden eyes, the ones that melted all of his worries away. This time he saw something else, something that made his stare work its way down to her lips and back up to her eyes again.

When she stood on her toes, he immediately leaned down and kissed her. It was soft, and gentle, an affirmation of mutual love and trust.

Finally breaking away from the kiss, Severus whispered in her ear. "Why didn't you come?"

She gave him a look filled with sorrow as she remembered the events that took place last week.

"When you left that Friday, I thought you were done with me. The thought of not spending my Friday's or any other day with you was too painful for me to bear. If I had gone in today and you had not showed up I.. I don't know what I would've done!"

A tear began to slide down her cheek then, and he reached up to wipe it away.

"Severus, I don't know how or when it happened but.. I.."

He smiled warmly at her, his heart bursting with joy at the realization that she too felt the same way.

"I love you Hermione."

She stayed starring at him, shocked at his words.  
"Please don't toy with me Severus."

"I would never say such a thing unless I meant it Hermione. I've fallen helpless in love with you."

"But … how.."

"I know what your thinking, we'll work something out. I know how you feel about the wizarding world, and to be frank; since I have been spending time with you, it would seem pointless to continue to live there at the expense of losing you."

"Severus! Do you realize what your saying?"

He pulled her tight against his body and whispered in his sultry voice.  
"Yes Hermione, I know exactly what I'm saying."

Hermione gave an involuntary shiver at the sound of his voice, damn it was sexy.

Severus chuckled darkly.  
"I have never spoken of this to you, but I have a home in Northern England, out in the country. I have never had a reason to live or spend any time there but it can become my new headquarters to brew potions for St. Mungos if I could find an assistant who wouldn't have to go anywhere within the wizarding world, simply help me brew the _potions_._. _

The way that he gave emphasis to the last word made Hermione swoon in his arms. Never having taken her eyes off of his, she whispered breathlessly in response: "When can I start?"

"It would have to be tomorrow since Friday nights are solely dedicated to us spending quality time together."

"I totally agree."  
Hermione pushed him over to the couch and straddled his lap.  
"Let's make the most of our Friday night Severus."

He chuckled darkly again. "Let's" 


End file.
